Modern harvesters, such as combines and corn pickers, are highly efficient at harvesting large quantities of grain in a very short time. These large mechanized devices can very rapidly pick or thresh a large farm in a very short time. However, the technology to handle the grain, once harvested, has not kept pace with the modern harvesting devices. For example, a modern combine can harvest more grain in a few hours than a fleet of trucks can collect and carry to storage in an entire day. It is very common to see combines and corn-pickers idle during most of the harvesting period due to their having harvested much more grain than the transportation facilities can carry away to storage. Often every available truck may be utilized in transporting grain to a central storage facility and still have the harvesters idle for the greater part of the time.
Storage and handling facilities also have not been able to keep pace with the harvesting machinery. It is very common during harvest season to see grain stored in the open on the ground, exposed to the elements, dirt, vermin and contamination, since all the available storage space in the grain elevators is occupied and/or the material handling facilities were not capable of handling the hugh influx of grain within the time allotted. Transportation facilities for taking grain from central elevators to the points of milling and use are also inadequate during the harvest season.
These factors all contribute to waste and degradation of harvested grain and to inefficient and uneconomical use of harvesting and transporting machinery. Moreover, during the harvesting season when grain is in abundance and the capacity of the storage facilities are taxed, the price of the grain inevitably is driven down. The farmer with no storage capacity of his own must sell at a very depressed market price or must pay storage costs on that grain until the market will pay an acceptable price.
Applicant has developed an alternative means of storing and transporting grain, as it is harvested, which allows the grain to be stored at the site of harvest and does not require extensive long distance transportation of the grain at the time it is harvested to a centralized storage facility. By eliminating the necessity of intermediate hauling, the limitations of the transportation network are avoided. The method uses a compact, inexpensive and light weight storage bin which can be towed beside the harvesting machinery and filled as harvesting is in progress. When the bin is filled it can be dropped at that point and a new bin substituted so that harvesting can continue without delay or hesitation. The bin is designed to be weather tight and vermin proof. It can be stored permanently where dropped or it can be moved, by a trailer designed to cooperate with the bin, to another place of permanent storage or use for the grain. Transportation need not be immediate, but can be done when the time is convenient, so that there is no inefficiency or undue expense involved.
the trailer used with the bin is designed so that the moving and expensive mechanical parts are designed into the trailer, rather than into the bin, which allows the bin to be reproduced many times at a minimum of expense. Even though this adds somewhat to the expense of the trailer, one trailer can be used in cooperation with many bins and the overall cost of the system is thereby greatly reduced. The bin and trailer can be operated by a normal farm tractor or by any suitably equipped truck or other vehicle. If the tractor or other vehicle is equipped with suitable road speed gearing, it can be used to haul the trailer and bins reasonably long distances to transport the grain and bins to market. Alternatively, the bin can be off-loaded onto a truck.
The trailer can also be equipped with a plenum type bottom having a foraminous upper member so that it can be used in cooperation with an auxiliary grain dryer. It is also contemplated that, by use of the false bottom and suitably rain shielded top vent, air drying of the grain stored in the bin could be effected without the use of auxiliary heat, thereby allowing a reduction of expense. The mass of grain in the trailer will be considerably smaller than that of a conventional storage elevator and normal circulation of air would be sufficient to provide adequate drying in many instances.
The trailer and bin can be loaded and unloaded by one operator using a conventional tractor with an auxiliary power mechanism, such as hydraulic or electric power, without necessitating the operator leaving the tractor. When loaded on the trailer the weight of the bin is distributed so that it can be readily towed at road speeds, such as provided by conventional farm tractors having road gear. The trailer is designed with automatic guides and latches which make it possible to readily load and unload a bin on the trailer without additional persons to help guide and attach the bin to the trailer. The bin is provided with loading hatches and dump doors to enable the bin to be loaded directly from a moving combine or corn picker and to allow the grain to be dumped into automatic materials handling systems, e.g., through grate loading mechanisms.
Although applicant has provided a bin superstructure to the pallet undercarriage, any other suitable superstructure may be provided to accomodate other types of cargo. Thus, applicant's trailer and pallet combination may be used to store and transport almost any type of farm product as well as industrial products including any machinery or machine tools which are normally palletized for shipping. It is only required for applicant's structure and method that the product or object being handled be capable of being supported on a pallet or in a structure which may be mounted on a pallet. Therefore, applicant's structure and method may be used with the vast majority of products and equipment made and sold today.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying illustrations.